Wire holding device



April 1949. N. w. CROSBY 2,466,083

WIRE HOLDING DEVICE Filed Dec. 18, 1947 W Vkm 1. v

Irnn for No/e W. CrosAy Patented Apr. 5, 1949 WIRE HOLDING DEVICE NobleWellington Crosby, Trenton, Ontario, Canada, assignor to Crosby Bros.Manufacturing Company, Trenton, Ontario, Canada Application December 18,1947, Serial No. 792,454

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a wire holding or gripping device particularlyadapted for use inelectrical wiring to enable a span of wire to be heldtaut while eliminating the strain from the end connections, and theprincipal object of the invention is to provide a sturdy and extremelyinexpensive gripping device which will securely grip a wire without inany way damaging the wire or its protective or insulatin covering andwill hold the wire against accidental displacement.

A further important object is to provide a wire holding device whichwill be extremely convenient to use, enabling any portion of the wireintermediate the ends to be quickly and easily inserted into the holderand held from longitudinal movement relative the holder.

A further important object is to provide a wire gripping device whichwill securely hold a wire from slipping under tension and which will actupon increase in tension on the wire to urge the wire into tightergripping relation with the holder.

A still further object is to provide a wire holding device which willfollow movements of the wire to prevent kinking of the wire at the endsof the holder.

A still further object is to provide a wire holding device which willhave a high reclaim value.

The principal feature of the invention consists in forming a singlestrip of metal into a wire gripping device comprising a base having aplurality of spaced-apart arcuate or part cylindrical ribs extendingfrom one longitudinal edge, alternate ribs being oppositely curvedwhereby their convex outer wire-engaging surfaces are arranged to faceon opposite sides of the base to frictionally hold a wire insertedbetween the ribs in a plurality of smoothly curved reverse deflections,the end ribs being formed with laterally turned lugs which extendoutwardly from adjacent their outer ends and under which the wireengages to prevent its removal from: the ribs.

A further important feature consists in canting the ribs outwardlyrelative the sides of the base whereby an increase in tension on thewire acts to move the wire towards the base of the ribs.

A still further important feature consists in knurling the convexsurfaces of the ribs to increase the frictional grip between the ribsandwire.

A still further feature consists in providing a flexible joint betweenthe wire holding device and the supporting surface to permit the holderto follow movement of the wire and prevent kinking of the wire at theends of the holder.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevational viewof a typical wiring installation utilizing my wire holding deviceshowing how it is used to relieve the strain from the ends of the wireconnected between aline pole and a house.

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of my device illustrating themanner in which it holds wires reeved between its ribbed projections.

Figure 3 is an edge view of my device with the wire engaging ribsextending away from the observer.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but with the device reversed andthe ribs extending to wards the observer.

Figure 5 is a part perspective view of a slightly modified form of mydevice showing the convex surfaces of the ribs as knurled to increasetheir gripping action and showing the laterally extending lug formed atthe end of the holder extending in a direction opposite to that of theconvex surface of the adjacent rib.

Where long spans of cable are employed it is particularly desirable thatthe weight of the cable or weights carried by the cable should not betransmitted to the connections made at the cable ends. This isparticularly true in electrical wiring installations, such as Wiringbetween distribution transformers and the home or between towers orpoles.

The present invention has therefore been devised to provide fa wiregripping device into which any portion of a wire or cable can be quicklyinserted and which will firmly grip the cable without in any waydamaging its surface or insulation coating to permit the device to beused to take up the strain on the wire eliminating tension on the endconnections.

On reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that thedevice is formed from a longitudinal strip I, preferably of brass orcop,-

per which have a high reclaim value, or an alloy which will not besubjected to rust. The strip I is formed with a plurality of ribs orprongs 2 extending from one longitudinal edge, and these prongs 2 aretransversely curved into an arcuate or part-cylindrical formation withalternate ribs being oppositely curved whereby the outer convexwire-engaging surfaces 3 of the alternate ribs facein oppositedirections and extend beyond 7 opposite faces of thebase portion 4.

To increase the rigidity of the holder the curvature of the rib 2 iscontinued down as at 5 into the base portion 4 to provide a somewhatcorrugated effect in the base portion.

As shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, the ribs 2 are inclined or cantedslightly outwardly in the direction of their convex surfaces. Thusalternate ribs slightly diverge with the divergence gradually increasingfrom the wire span engaging end to the anchored end as shownparticularly in Figure 4. With this arrangement as is clearly shown thetortuousness of the wire to be clamped progressively increases towardsthe anchored end of the device.

One end 6 of the strip I is fiat and extending angularly outwardlytherefrom is a lug 1, the

lower end 8 of which is turned up extends substantially parallel to thelongitudinal edge of the base portion 4,

The rib 2 at the end of the base portion 4 remote from the end 6 isprovided with a laterally extending lug 9 having a downturned outer endThe lug 1 adjacent the end 6 extends laterally of the strip in thedirection opposite to the convex face of the adjacent rib 2, while thelug 9 extends laterally in the same direction as the convex surface ofthe rib of which it forms a part.

An opening H is provided in the end 6 of the strip I and loosely mountedin this opening II is a wire loop [2.

In using m device the wire or wires l3, here shown as electrical wireshaving an insulating covering, are inserted between the outward ends ofthe ribs 2 and forced down towards the base of the ribs. The wires areso arranged that they contact the outer'convex surfaces of the ribs 3which serve to hold the wiresin va series of smoothly curved reversedeflections. The wires are then bent under the lugs 1 and 9 which serveto prevent them moving outwardly to the ends of the ribs, securelyholding the wires in position.

The curved surfaces 3 of the ribs are so arranged that the wires do notengage the rib edges and there is no discontinuity in the wire fiexures.

The radius of curvature of the convex rib surfaces are chosen so that nostrain will be placed on the wires at their points of flexure.

While neither the wires nor their protective coverings will in any waybe damaged by the smoothly curved rib surfaces 3, the ribs, by virtue oftheir arrangement in holding the wire in tortuous arrangement, willprovide a very strong friction grip with the wires to securely hold themfrom longitudinal movement relative to the holder.

Because of the cant or diverging arrangement of the ribs any increase intension attempting to move the wires longitudinally causes same to bemoved downwardly towards the base of the ribs, resulting in a reductionin the bending effect on the ribs and moving the Wires into closerengagement with the holder.

Further, as will be appreciated from inspection of Figures 3 and 4 thenon-uniform staggering arrangement of the ribs 2 with the increasedtortuousness of the wires adjacent the end of the device to be securedpermits the tension on the.

wires to be transferred back from the free end so that there will be asubstantially even stress on the wire throughout the holding device.

In the wiring installation illustrated in Figure 1, one of my holdingdevices is shown supported by the loop I2 from a pole l4 and from thewall of a house l'5. The feed wires l6 connected with the supply cableI! carried by the pole and running to the house are securely grippedadjacent the pole and the house by the ribs of the holding devices.

As illustrated, the feed wires Hi can be drawn tightly between theholders and the strain due to the weight of the wire is transmitted tothe rigid supporting surfaces through the loops l2, eliminatingcompletely any strain on the ends of the wires or their connections.

' Since the wires can be inserted between the open ends of the ribs 2and does not need to be threaded through its tortuous path, the positionof the-wires in the holders can be quickly changed without disconnectingthe ends. Thus the sag of a span of Wire can be very conveniently takenafter bending them out from under the lugs I and 9, drawing the wirestight and inserting them back between the arcuate ribs.

It will be noted that the loops l2 provide a flexible joint between thesupporting surface and the holder strip I, whereby the holders mayorient themselves to the direction and slope of the wires to preventkinking of the wire at the ends of the holders.

While any number of ribs 2 may be used, it is preferred that at leastfour be provided. Figures 2 to 4 show six ribs and the wires I3 areshown entering and leaving the holder from the same side. However, itmay be found advisable to arrange the ribs so that the wires enter atone side of the holder and leave at the other.

Figure 5 shows a somewhat modified form of holder in which the lug 9extends from the opposite side of the holder to the lug shown in Figure2 and the end rib has its convex face:

means of a suitable die from. a single strip of material will beextremely inexpensive to manufacture and due .to its particular formthere will be practically no waste of ing operation.

Further, because of, the arcuate formation of the ribs their rigiditywillbe high enabling a relatively thin strip of material to be used.

While I prefer to make my holder from copper I or brass, it will beunderstood that other material may be used and if desirable my holdermay be formed from a suitable insulating material and used inconjunction with bare conductors. With the brass or copper constructionthe holders have a high reclaim value and when damaged or worn may bemelteddown and the material used again. i I

While I have shown one particular use for my holder it will beappreciated that its usefulness is applicable to. any condition where itis desirable to prevent a flexible wire or rope from slip-- pinglongitudinally of its holder.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A wire holding device comprising a strip of metal having a, pluralityof spaced-apart in-. I tegral wire-engaging members extending from.

on longitudinal edge thereof, said members material in the form- 1having an arcuate cross section with alternate members being oppositelycurved whereb their convex surfaces are arranged to face on oppositesides of the strip to hold a wire inserted therebetween in a series ofsmooth reverse deflections said members being canted outwardly in thedirection of their convex surfaces with the cant of the membersprogressively increasing towards one end, and integral lug means underwhich said wire is adapted to extend laterally from adjacent the ends ofsaid strip, said lug means acting to prevent said wire moving outwardlyof said Wireengaging members.

2. A wire-holding device comprising a flat wide strip of rigid materialhaving a plurality of integral spaced-apart wire-engaging projectionsextending from one longitudinal edge thereof, said projections being ofarcuate cross section with alternate members being oppositely curved andbeing canted outwardly of the plane of said strip in the direction oftheir convex surfaces, the cant of said projections progressivelyincreasing towards the end of the device to be secured to a supportingsurface whereby tension on a wire threaded around said arcuateprojections is transferred towards the end of the device to be securedto provide a substantially uniform stress on the wire throughout thedevice.

3. A wire-holding device comprising a fiat wide strip of rigid materialhaving a plurality of integral spaced-apart wire-engaging projectionsextending from one longitudinal edge thereof, holding means pivotallyconnected to one end of said strip to secure same for swivel movement toa supporting surface, said projections being of arcuate cross sectionwith alternate members being oppositely curved and being cantedoutwardly of the plane of said strip in the direction of their convexsurfaces, the cant of said projections progressively increasing towardsthe end of the device to be secured whereby a progressively increasinggripping action is provided towards said end to be secured to take up aprogressively increasing proportion of the tension transferred through awire threaded through said projections.

NOBLE WELLINGTON CROSBY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 369,079 Rowland Aug. 30, 1887556,485 Wilson Mar. 17, 1896 1,228,019 Hancock May 29, 1917 1,889,113Shope Nov. 29, 1932 2,309,971 McLarn Feb. 2, 1943

